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Michael Cote wrote 1.09 :

Hi Arthur

My boat is GUIDOUNE. My dad drove to St. Catherines ON from Montreal QC to pick it up with myself and my older brother. I inherited it in 1985 and have been sailing it ever since. It was recently refurbished with new paint and a nice set of Quantum sails a few years ago. There is a small fleet of six here in Mactaquac, New Brunswick. It's a 90 km / 60 mi long and wide reservoir on the Saint John River 10 minutes (by car) upriver from Fredericton and almost two hours drive from St. John and the Bay of Fundy.

I've included some photos . . . my crew is usually my lovely wife Heather and my daughter Claudia. We've won the season's cup three years running. Many members are complaining about our handicap (which are never fair) that is pegged at a favourable 95 Portsmouth. We seem to easily run with Laser 1s and Wayfarers which are both pegged at about 92.

Our fleet started about five years ago when an ice boating friend and avid sailor, Cal Creaser, asked me seek a Shark for him on the web. I found many as Sharks are rather common and available in various states of repair. There were also a few Cygnus 20s. Although older than me Cal had owned Stars and an Etchells 22 so I mentioned that he should consider the Cygnus, especially if he had little intention of cruising. I showed him mine and he decided to pick one up. Cal is the 'grand old man' of sailing here being from Lunenberg, NS and having been one of the founding members of the Mactaquac Sailing Association http://www.sflyer.ca/steve/MSA-Race07.htm . He convinced three other members to buy Cygnus 20s as well.

I no longer use the removable cuddy. It gets in the way of sail handling but can be handy when sailing in a lot of spray. My boat was refinished in the same boatyard where Derek Hadfield's Open 40 was built. Derek's dad is my neighbor. The Mactaquac Headpond is about a kilometre wide and runs north from the hydro electric dam about 50 km / 30 mi up the Saint John River to Woodstock and south from the dam a similar distance. My Cygnus is moored in front of our house.

Great stuff in the Nonsuch Photo Galleries! George Hinterhoeller designed and built some great boats, I wasn't aware of his involvement with C&C or the Nonsuch. He's also left his legacy in my simple boat, and it's still being enjoyed after 40 years.

Michael

Michael & Heather Cote
GUIDOUNE Cygnus 20 114
Mactaquac Sailing Association
Mactaquac Head Pond, St. John River NB

cote at warpnet.ca

( ed. GUIDOUNE translates pretty closely as EASY WOMAN )

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